The Story of Two Friends
by ilurrrverussia
Summary: Cute story about a certain German boy growing up alongside his Swedish buddy. Does contain language, puppies, GerIta and SuFin. Dedicated to @ludwigbaelschmidt on Instagram. She's lit.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: This is dedicated to ludwigbaelschmidt from Instagram. She has helped me out so much! Now I am in the process of making the greatest SuFin ita bag known to mankind! Churchmaine is super nice and her best boy is Ludwig. I thought it'd be cute to write a fic about both our sons being best buddies and going on cute adventures together.**

I want to tell you a story about two friends. Their friendship wasn't unlikely, but rather overlooked by others. This friendship wasn't astounding in the slightest, but I want to tell you anyway. Maybe we can all empathise or dream of such a thing.

Let's start when they were four and in the youngest class of the school. There were two boys who kind of… stood out. One boy was determined to play in the toy kitchen and was often seen escorting out others who dared try to ruin his culinary masterpieces. The other boy simply tore at paper with frustration. Of course, it did not occur to the teacher that the two would come together.

"Why are you tearing at your paper?" The little boy with glasses asked. At this age his accent, which was known to be his most prominent problem later in life, was just about forming. He was a tiny boy compared to the others and almost looked sickly. Everything about him seemed oddly pale- his blond hair, his blue eyes, his skin. The teachers often slipped chocolate into the toy kitchen for him, in the hopes to fatten the little boy up.

"I can't draw a bunny," The other little boy pouted and wiggled in frustration, "I want to draw a bunny, like that little boy." He pointed to Feliciano, a name that often proved too hard for the other children. Feliciano was a little Italian boy, known for his cuteness and his ability to draw. His rabbit drawing was stuck on the class board with pride. Feliciano was currently playing dress up with the little girls.

"I can draw a doggy." Berwald, the sickly Swedish boy, stated simply. He sat next to Ludwig, a boy with a rather pink disposition, and took a piece of paper from Ludwig's pile of paper. He quickly scribbled a small, fat blob with a somewhat recognisable dog's face, with a bigger blob for the body and tiny blobs for the legs and tail.

"You forgot his ears."

"You draw them."

Ludwig, attentively, drew little floppy ears for their dog.

"Now we can give her a name."

"No, the doggy is a boy, like us."

"What's his name?"

Ludwig searched the classroom for a good name, preferably one easy to say. Ludwig believed that "kitchen boy" had a speech problem.

"Egg. The doggy is called Egg."

"He is a good doggy. Good Egg."

They both smiled over Egg the doggy, and Berwald scribbled 'Egg, good doggy" under their blobby doggy.

"We should give him to Mister Rome to look after."

"And we can feed him every day!"

The two little boys proudly waddled up to Mister Rome, holding up their precious drawing together. Berwald glared at the children who dared come near their doggy, in case they ripped Egg.

Mister Rome was made up that "Paper Shit" and "Swedish Chef" had finally calmed down and created something.

"Please put him low so we can reach him."

"We want to feed Egg."

"Of course. Why don't you draw Egg a friend?"

The two boys shook their head. They believed Egg was a perfect doggy, unable to replicate with mere pencils. Of course, they couldn't say it, but they thought it.

The two busied their days by cooking quietly in the kitchen, looking for something nice for their dog. On 'Book Day' they brought dog themed books to read to Egg. During nap time, Berwald and Ludwig both dreamt of doggies. Ludwig also wanted bunnies and sausage with potatoes. Berwald wanted cats and hamsters and more doggies and 'Tiny', a boy from down the road. During prayers, they both sat together and prayed for happiness for Egg and every dog in existence.

The whole ball game changed, however, when it was 'National Dress Up Day', a day where the children came dressed up if their parents donated some money to the school for charity. Berwald came dressed as a chef, with the idea that he could create better dishes for Egg if he was dressed properly. Ludwig felt immediately cheated when he turned up as a dog.

"Cook so I can cook for Egg."

"But we like dogs, not cooks."

"I like cooks too. They make food."

Ludwig sulked, feeling silly for being the only one being dressed as a dog in the classroom. Berwald frowned, suddenly feeling lonely in his kitchen. Feliciano, feeling lucky, tried to get into Berwald's kitchen to create pasta.

"Cat Boy, I want you to make me a doggy."

"Then can I make pasta?"

Little Berwald nodded to the chubby boy and the two waddled over to the fancy dress box. Feliciano placed a pair of dog ears under Berwald's hat and asked his grandpa for help with the tail.

"Now you're a doggy chef." The little Italian boy clapped with joy, and ran up to Ludwig, taking Berwald with him.

"I am Doggy Chef, the bestest dog cook in the whole world. I am here to cook for Mister Ludwoof and Mister Cat." Berwald grabbed a very happy Feliciano and a very shocked Ludwig and escorted them to the nearest table to his kitchen. Mathias, a tiny rascal who came dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog, had watched the whole thing from afar and graciously stepped up with a very scribbled menu for Ludwig and Feliciano. He bowed like a waiter and said proudly, "May I get you some beer?"

"Beer?" Asked the little cat boy.

"It's like water for adults."

"Go away Maths, they are a cat and dog, not adults." Berwald clumsily pushed Mathias' shoulder in defiance. Mathias frowned deeply and pushed Berwald back.

"My name is Mathias, not Maths. I don't like you."

"Leave then."

Mathias left, with tears in his eyes and a stomp with his foot. Berwald went back to getting teacups from his tea set. He ran back to Ludwig and Feliciano.

"Just pretend it is water."

"Meow! Thank you!"

"Woof!"

"Are you ready to order?"

Ludwig looked uneasily to Feliciano. The chubby boy grinned back.

"Tuna pasta, purrrrrrease!"

Berwald turned to Ludwig, whom had cowered with shyness in his seat.

"I don't know."

"I shall make you 'Doggy Surprise' then."

Little Berwald wiggled off to his kitchen triumphantly and set about his food. He put a plastic spaghetti in the pan with a plastic fish. He sneaked a peek to see if Ludwig was okay. The two boys were talking about football, something they could not play until they were older, but they both watched avidly on television. Ludwig had perked up now as he told Feliciano all about Germany's football team.

Berwald grabbed some plastic sausage and mashed potato and put in his little oven. He wondered what real dogs ate. Egg had lived on burgers and chips at this point.

"Pssst, Ludwig, say 'beep beep' for me." Berwald whispered from his kitchen window, realising that real ovens made a 'beep beep'.

"Beep beep."

"Thank you."

His kitchen had 'fancy plates' that Feliciano drew on one day when Berwald wasn't looking. Berwald liked them and decided only the fancy plates would do for his customers. He served up the tuna pasta and 'Doggy Surprise' proudly to his little clients.

"Meow! Thank you!"

"Woof!"

"Woof!" Berwald waddled back to his kitchen to wash his dishes. He was a good little boy. "Just like a good doggy." Berwald thought as he scrubbed his dishes with his imaginary sponge.

The two boys chatted happily about a movie they saw about cats and mazes on TV last Sunday. Feliciano said he wanted to draw them like that one day, good enough to be on TV. Ludwig told him he wanted to take a doggy to space.

Ludwig graciously paid for the meal on Feliciano's behalf with some money he drew the other day. He even gave Berwald a tip for being "the bestest chef doggy."

Ludwig and Berwald's chef and dog adventures continued, including the odd encounter with Feliciano and the odd fight with Mathias, until they were six. They had to go to the 'big class' once they were six, with a new teacher too. Ludwig made sure Egg also came with them.

 **Review? Maybe? Please?**

 **Also tell me about SuFin and puppies.**

 **And no, "Tiny" isn't a typo I made.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm chopping this story up into small chapters. It was originally other 5,000 words and Ludwig hadn't even finished college yet. It was getting to big for me to read and add thing to, so it's now sectioned. Hence, I apologise if the chapters do not transition smoothly. PS thank you Churchmaine (that's not her name by the way).**

'Big class' had more learning than play. They had to learn how to read properly, which Berwald was beginning to become quite good at, and how to deal with maths, which Ludwig was good at. Now they were six they could play football outside, a very popular choice for the boys. Ludwig and Berwald were just average at this age. Ludwig was losing his pinkness whilst Berwald gained colour. Berwald was also filling out; his mother realised that she could make him eat by claiming that a proper chef made it.

The two were now firm friends. They always sat next to each other and were each other's partners for work and trips. The two were inseparable and stayed away from other children, unless it was for football. Ludwig was more enthusiastic at football than Berwald, but it was Berwald who was more likely to communicate with the other children than his German friend. In the classroom, the two boys helped each other out and used dogs and football for their work.

"If you have two footballs and then I gave you two footballs, how many footballs do you have?"

"Too many." Answered Berwald.

They also got better with names, except Feliciano stayed as "Cat Boy" and Mathias who stayed as "Maths" or "Hedgehog".

When it rained, they could not play football. Berwald and Ludwig drew dogs and footballs or practiced reading about breeds of dogs. Ludwig wanted to hug every single one of them and tell them all that they were good boys. Ludwig had not realised that girls existed.

Feliciano was playing dress up again with the girls. Today he was a little cleaner, with an apron over his green dress. He brushed the carpet and wiggled and hummed as he cleaned.

Ludwig looked at Berwald. Berwald nodded.

"I'm the king and I h-have something to tell you." Ludwig stammered as he approached him, with a makeshift crown Berwald had made just for this occasion.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"You are best boy and the bestest cleaner. Good job." Ludwig then stuck a 'Good work!' sticker onto the shorter boy's apron. Feliciano covered his own cheeks, something he saw princesses do on TV, and gave Ludwig a kiss on the cheek. Ludwig gave a tiny gasp and wandered back over to Berwald, who had been distracted by Mathias. Ludwig found a crying Mathias and a lot of Lego.

"How did it go?"

"He did this thing. It was nice."

"What thing?"

Ludwig then clumsily kissed Berwald's cheek, almost falling over with concentration.

"Oh! A kissy!"

"What's a 'kissy'?"

"It's a way of telling someone that they are a good boy."

Ludwig gasped in awe. He wished he knew this so he could have given Cat Boy a kissy. Ludwig, filled with knowledge and determination, decided to give Cat Boy a kissy, but first he had other people to kissy. He lifted Egg out of his book and gave him a kiss. He then gave Berwald's cheek a kiss, because he thought Berwald was a good boy too.

"Ewwww! Ludwig and Berwald are kissing!" Mathias screamed, seeking revenge for his Lego mansion.

"You're just jealous because no one wants to kissy you b-because no one thinks you're a good boy!" Berwald fought back. Mathias ran off crying, neglecting his mansion altogether.

To everyone else in their class, Berwald and Ludwig were the quiet ones and were often unnoticed. The two found that they could swap identities too as long as one of them wore glasses. The two thought it was such fun to pretend to be each other. They had a competition on who was best at pretending to be the other person. Ludwig, at this stage, was winning due to his ability to do a Swedish-Chef style accent. The two boys even convinced the other children that they were twins. Ludwig's older brother, Gilbert, also helped their ruse by confirming to the children that they were twins.

Ludwig's grandpa picked him and Gilbert up every day. Often Berwald's mother came late but one day she came early, as she got let off from work earlier than usual. Ludwig ran up to Berwald and celebrated over a dog that had barked at him across the road. Berwald's mother was so relieved to find that her awkward son had met a friend. Ludwig's grandpa and Berwald's mother swapped details so that the two could play outside school and now Berwald could come home with Ludwig and wait for his mother there, as the three of them lived only around the corner from the Swedish boy's house.

They spent their days playing football in Ludwig's back garden and asking Gilbert about birds. Gilbert loved birds the way Ludwig loved dogs. Unfortunately for the two brothers, they had a cat. A very cute grey cat called Germouser. He had a grumpy face and liked to prowl around in search of intruders. Berwald and Ludwig loved him and gave him 'kissies' for being a good cat. Berwald, if he got bored of playing football, often went off to plait Ludwig's grandpa's hair, something he learnt from reading his mother's fashion magazines.

"Mr. Grandpa," Berwald asked, tugging up at Ludwig's grandpa's sleeve, "Can Ludwig come back to my house when Mama comes? I want to show him my cat too."

Ludwig's grandpa thought he was adorable, so he ruffled Berwald's hair and nodded.

 **Thanks lads. Top bants.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Go follow ludwigbaelschmidt on Instagram.**

Ludwig was perplexed by Berwald's house because Berwald had no Grandpa or big brother Gilbert. It was filled with furniture he saw at Ikea. Berwald also had a thing called a 'Mama', whom looked like Berwald but with long hair, who equally confused Ludwig. Ludwig also was perplexed by Susan, Berwald's cat.

"Our cats are twins!" Ludwig exclaimed as he saw the grey cat with an equally grumpy face, searching for intruders.

"My cat has little glasses though." Berwald held Susan up so that Ludwig could see the black markings that made Susan's "glasses".

"Is Susan a boy or a mama cat?"

"Susan is a boy cat but I couldn't think of a cuter name. I love Susan." Berwald hugged Susan tightly and the two boys gave Susan kissies for being a good boy too. Susan grumpily accepted the kisses.

"There's something I need to show you."

The little German boy followed Berwald to his bedroom window. They sat on his bed and watched intently. Just as Ludwig was going to question the purpose of this, Ludwig saw a chubby little boy, around their age, appear with a dog.

"Who's that?" Ludwig whispered, even though the little boy wouldn't be able to hear them.

"Tiny. He is going to be my wife."

"What's his dog called?"

"Bomber. His dog looks like our Egg."

"He does look like Egg!" Ludwig gasped, waving to the little white dog, "that's a Maltese dog, I think."

Berwald blinked, impressed with Ludwig's knowledge. Bomber waved back with a tiny white paw.

"Does he play football?"

"No, he just goes out to walk to school or to walk Bomber."

"How strange."

.

The years flew by. Nothing really changed. They walked to and from school together with Ludwig's grandpa. They still swapped identities every now and then. They played football. They loved dogs. Egg was stuck on Berwald's fridge as Berwald's house had the advantage of not containing Gilbert the destroyer. They were both best friends. 'Kissies' stopped as Berwald told Ludwig he wanted to save his kisses for Tiny. Berwald nodded and decided that this was a good idea. He was going to save his kisses for Cat Boy and his future dogs.

When they were nine, Berwald came in talking excitedly to Ludwig about 'Arnold Sausage', a strong man who sounded just like Ludwig. Ludwig watched a clip of him on the TV and decided he sounded nothing like 'Arnold Sausage', but was inspired by his muscles.

"I bet Tiny would like it if I was big and strong like him. Then I could help him carry his backpack."

"If I was big and strong, I could hold a leash with twenty dogs with just one hand!" Ludwig exclaimed. The two made a pact to get big and strong just like 'Arnold Sausage'. They tried harder in PE and ran around the playground chasing imaginary dogs.

All continued in a status quo, until the last day of primary school when they were eleven. Ludwig, Berwald and Mathias were all going to a good state school nearby, which Gilbert was already attending. However, Feliciano was going to a Catholic school with his brother Lovino.

The two boys stood outside the school gates, crying.

"Why won't you come to my high school?"

"I have to do as Grandpa Rome says."

"Well, I guess this is good bye."

Ludwig, full of courage and the knowledge he may never see Cat Boy again, gave him a quick kiss. He had saved them all up for this moment. Then he dramatically ran across the road, with tears in his eyes, where he expected to see Berwald and his Grandpa.

Except he never made it.

.

Berwald spent those summer holidays crying. He sat in his bedroom and cried. He watched Tiny come and go with Bomber, and then cried some more. He refused to go see Ludwig until high school started. He believed that only then could he see Ludwig, any time before then would cause Ludwig to die. On the last day of summer, his mother called him down.

"Berwald, baby, come here to Mama. I need to tell you something important."

Berwald plodded slowly down the stairs, a little frown stuck on his face. A frown that would never really shift. He sat on his mother's lap, his own lap soon occupied by Susan.

"Sweetie, Ludwig is okay." His mother whispered, rubbing his back gently, "But he has lost his memories."

"Wh-What?" Berwald whimpered, his eyes brimming up again. "Has he forgotten me and Egg?"

"I'm sorry sweetie."

.

For Ludwig, that summer was the worst. He spent most of it in hospital, with strangers telling him who he was supposed to be. They brought him photographs and books he loved. He loved these new books but could not remember anything. Instead he decided to love the albino and the pretty grandpa anyway, even if he could not remember their past together. However, he felt guilty for the sadness on their faces when he failed to remember something.

Being at home was weird too. He had to be told which were his toys and where everything was. He did not even remember Germouser. Due to his struggles, Grandpa said he was going to get him a present. Gilbert rushed in and told the German boy to close his eyes. When he opened them, he heard a woof. A baby German shepherd bounced into his lap. Ludwig hugged him and cried.

"What's wrong Luddy?" Gilbert asked.

"He's so cute," Ludwig sobbed, "I'm going to die."


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, the start of school, Berwald begged his mother to take him instead of Ludwig's grandpa. She refused and personally escorted him over to Ludwig's house, where everyone was stood waiting for him, even the cat.

"Hello Berwald!" Ludwig greeted, holding his puppy.

"Do you remember me?"

"No," Ludwig confessed, "but Gilbert told me all about you! Let's continue being twins in this school too!"

"Is that a puppy?!"

Berwald and Ludwig spent their first week at high school telling everyone they were twins, they were determined to reinstate their primary school happiness into this new school, and talking about Blackie- Ludwig's puppy. Berwald was more than happy to hear about Blackie stealing food and demanding tummy rubs. Berwald told Ludwig about their football games and how they both wanted to be strong like 'Arnold Sausage'. Ludwig could never recall these memories but decided to remember this information to pretend being his past self.

Soon Berwald had cemented himself back in Ludwig's heart. Berwald never pressured Ludwig to remember but simply accepted it. They both spent their days as before, getting even better at football and playing with Blackie. The Swedish boy thought it was best not to mention Cat Boy or Egg so they stayed in his heart alone.

Let's fast forward a few years. Ludwig had made friends like Kiku… actually, just Kiku. Kiku was a quiet Japanese boy in Ludwig's English class, one of the few classes that had split him and Berwald up. The Swedish boy made friends with Lukas, a Norwegian boy in his English class, who was also bothered by Mathias. But still the 'twins' came first in each other's hearts. Their identity swapping continued until they were 13. Ludwig was told he needed reading glasses. The two boys now just looked like simple twins who were indistinguishable to their other peers. That is, until puberty crept up behind Berwald and changed his voice.

"Squeaky Swede!" The others taunted. Soon other, but unrelated, insults came. They mocked his accent, his scary mother, his scary face and his lack of enthusiasm in general. He said nothing, his voice becoming too embarrassing for him. He sat there and frowned. He ran off his frustration, he punched out his tears onto his punching bag. Unless it was Mathias, then he simply kicked the shit out of him.

Now they were distinguishable and memorable. Berwald was the squeaky boy, who was also now getting acne. Ludwig was still just a normal boy; he was normal whilst Berwald was good fun to tease. Ludwig did not know what to do.

"Do you want me to beat them up?"

"No, just ignore them. Unless it's Mathias."

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"He stole my dog teddy when I was little. Besides," Berwald sighed, "he's blessed enough to live next to Tiny."

"Who's Tiny?"

"I'll show you."

Berwald took Ludwig back to his corner of the road and then crossed it until they arrived at a little red house that matched the rest of the houses in their part of town. On the sign, next to the number "20", there were a list of the name of residents.

"Berwald, that doesn't say 'Tiny'."

"It does!"

"No, go right up to it, it says 'Tino'."

The two stood there and argued over the name until a boy came out of the house with a white dog. Berwald gasped and hid behind Ludwig.

"Can Bomber and I help you?"

Bomber was now no longer a puppy but Berwald still waved at him. Bomber waved his little paw back.

"We're arguing over the name on this sign. What does it say?" Ludwig asked politely, if not a little baffled, and pointed to the specific name.

"Oh! That says Tino! I'm Tino! My dad has bad handwriting." The short boy giggled. Berwald almost winced, he couldn't stand it. He wanted to show up to Tino's house, built and super handsome, and sweep the cutie off his feet, not be covered in acne with an ugly voice. He was ashamed.

"I'm Ludwig. May I stroke your dog? I love Maltese dogs."

Tino nodded and Ludwig immediately dropped down to cuddled and fuss a very excited Bomber. Tino giggled but jumped a bit when he saw Berwald.

"Oh! Hello." Tino jumped with surprise, then he whimpered a little, grabbing his arm. Berwald wanted to spontaneously combust. He had spooked Tino just with his face.

"Hello."

All three of them gasped. The deepest voice they had ever heard just escaped Berwald's mouth.

"Your voice is so deep!" Tino exclaimed, delighted suddenly. Ludwig saw his opportunity.

"Berwald loves dogs too. And he thinks you're cute."

"LUDIWG!"

Tino giggled and his little cheeks grew pink.

"Why thank you! I like dogs too, especially Bomber. I also love cats."

"I have a cat." Berwald replied shyly.

The three of them sat outside Tino's house to talk about dogs and cats and play with Bomber. Tino was now being home-schooled, which is why Berwald didn't see him in the mornings. He was a little boy from Finland and boy he loved to chat! Ludwig saw that, with every word from Tino's lips, Berwald melted more and more.

Ludwig was secretly worried though. He knew that they were all soon going to be hit by puberty either with a baseball bat or a bus. Would Berwald still be into Tino? Would Ludwig end up being ugly?

Thankfully, Berwald and luck was on the German's side.

"There's this face scrub. Works miracles." Berwald said, handing out him and Gilbert some face scrubs, a few months after meeting Tino. "Also, lay off the potatoes. Testosterone loves making acne from carbs, like potatoes."

Gilbert and Ludwig took Berwald's beauty advice. They used their special lotions religiously, used potatoes as a treat for when they completed laps, bathed often with toy submarines and kept a rigorous schedule. Ludwig was determined and so was Gilbert, oddly enough.


	5. Chapter 5

The two boys walked Blackie over to Tino's house to meet the Finnish boy and Bomber, walking around together as a fun little trio. Berwald was often seen snacking on Swedish meatballs as his mother told him they'd make him as tall as a tree.

Luckily for Ludwig, his voice broke over the summer so he could return back to school, having escaped the worst of it. They were all shook at how Ludwig and Berwald had saved themselves from the pits of embarrassment. The two were still distinguishable as Berwald's growth spurt had made him an inch or two taller than his German pal.

The two boys were sat in registration when Ludwig had finally realised that him and Berwald were getting quite tall. He looked around uneasily. Then he realised that now would be the perfect time to talk to Berwald about something bothering him.

"Berwald?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gay."

Berwald laughed. Oh, how he laughed. He laughed so hard that it was audible to other people, that's how hard he laughed.

"No kidding. You eat sausages non-stop."

"Yeah, well," Ludwig huffed indignantly, "You eat meatballs all the time."

"I never claimed to be straight."

The German boy laughed back. That was a valid point.

.

In later years, lunchtimes and break times were spent messing with Kiku and playing football, but Ludwig still sat with Berwald during class. Ludwig thought the slow separation would prepare them for later life. He sent Mathias to go see if Berwald was okay during his new plan.

"He's made friends with the girls."

"He's what?"

"He's sat around braiding their hair. He's playing the role of 'gay best friend'."

"Thank you. That is all." Ludwig felt a bit sad for some unknown reason. Jealousy, perhaps. At least Berwald was okay, Ludwig shrugged to himself. Later he found out that Berwald was accepted due to his ability to braid hair, make flower crowns, and the fact that he loved reading his mother's fashion magazines.

Ludwig took this opportunity to seize his 'political career', as he had decided that maybe being an astronaut was too difficult. He took to the school council, where he was invited in due to Gilbert threatening everyone. He was a very enthusiastic member of the school council, unlike Gilbert. Ludwig took down the minutes, created the agenda (Gilbert's job), and even had to sort out the treasury (the Austrian boy's job). He was exasperated by how people took the school council's meetings as an excuse to chat and cut class. He sat there, running the place, often with only Vash- a Swiss guy who had been bullied up to this point for the number of patches made to his school uniform- for company.

.

At the age of sixteen, and the stress of GCSEs, the boys finally found Tino, who had gone missing for a year. Puberty had hit him late but damn Berwald was melting again.

"Thicker than a snicker," Berwald whispered to Ludwig, "help me, I'm so gay."

"His butt jiggles. That's my religion." Ludwig replied.

"We're so gay."

Tino turned around, a very old Bomber wagging behind him.

"Oh! Look at how tall you two are!"

It was true. The two of them towered over everyone else in their class, except Ivan, at this point. They both had done well in their determination to be 'Arnold Sausage' and were both quite handsome. However, they were still awkward fucks who were gay as Hell.

"You're thicker than a snicker." Ludwig blurted out. Berwald internally screamed so loudly that a weird noise came out of his throat.

"Really?! That's so kind of you! I want to be cute like a Moomin!" Tino replied enthusiastically.

"You are." Berwald added coolly. Ludwig felt, suddenly, that somewhere in his past, Berwald helped him with love, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Are you gay?" Ludwig asked, trying his hardest to repay Berwald. Berwald gave him a look that could have killed him. Ludwig regretted everything. Tino gave him a look of distrust, and raised an eyebrow.

"What's it got to do with you?"

"I think you're hot. That's why." Berwald blurted out, hoping to save Ludwig this time, not even bothering to look up from his shoes.

"REALLY?! I think you're hot too! Like tall guys with glasses are my favourite! You're like a giant!" Tino exclaimed, bouncing a little. "You look so tough and intimidating!"

Berwald fidgeted a bit. Ludwig stared at Bomber. Tino gleamed with some sort of excitement, until he looked at his watched and realised the time.

"Oh dear! I'm late for tea. See you soon, Luddy and Mr Swedish Guy!" With that, Tino waved eagerly and ran home with his dog in his arms. Berwald and Ludwig watched him for a bit and then sighed.

"We are so lucky that he is eccentric." The shorter boy sighed, his heart racing from the awkwardness.

"So lucky."

"Does he know your name?"

"He has the rest of our lives to learn it."

"Smooth."

.

College started (for Americans, this is like the two last years of high school for you) and time was getting more and more strange. Sundays was Tino day for Berwald but "Help me I'm bored" day for Ludwig. Berwald claimed he chose Sunday because it was the day Ludwig was the busiest as he had to run to Church with his family and do his homework. But Ludwig hated Sundays enough as it was, now he hated them more, especially as Gilbert would go to flirt with Roderich or Elizabeta (which one, he did not know). Tuesday was also 'Girls Day' which meant Berwald went to the girls' houses for sleepovers to braid hair and talk about gossip and crushes. Tuesday was KIku day for Ludwig so he did not mind.

College is wild, at least it was in this college. It was so much more mature than high school, but it was not quite university yet. There were only two colleges in the town for them to go to. For once, Tino was in the same place as them.

"Berwald! Join 'Death Metal Club' with me!"

"Hmmm, only if you join 'Cooking Club' with me."

"Okay! Luddy, are you going to join too?" Tino exclaimed.

"No thanks. Is gym day still Thursday?"

"Yes."

Ludwig went to 'Cooking Club' to find Berwald. Berwald had lied to him, gym day was on Fridays. Ludwig wanted to track him down and just double check Berwald knew what he was doing. Then suddenly, his gayness hit him…


End file.
